One example of an electrical connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,911. The disclosed electrical connector has solder cups that are to be electrically connected to contacts that extend from one surface of an insulating housing. These solder cups are disposed so that they face toward the top side and bottom side of the housing, and thus allow access for soldering from two directions, i.e., from the top side and the bottom side. In each soldering cup, a fastening portion that is fastened to the insulating housing and an extending portion that extends from the insulating housing are formed with a substantially cylindrical cross section. Accordingly, the solder cups are firmly supported on the insulating housing, and the solder cups themselves have sufficient mechanical strength, so that there is no danger that the solder cups will be deformed as a result of being pressed by the soldering iron, during the soldering of conductors thereto.
In the electrical connector disclosed above, the dimensions of the solder cups and the insulating housing supporting the solder cups are relatively large. Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that allows easy and reliable soldering of conductors without deforming the solder cups, and that, at the same time, has a relatively compact insulating housing and solder cups.